04 Feb Top 10 Books I Read In 2018
Image from Pixabay
At the beginning of 2017, I set myself a goal to read 100 books that year. I recorded my experiences on how that went here.
This year, considering the lessons learned in 2017, I didn’t set myself a target of a number of books to read (although in my head I wanted it to be no fewer than 50).
So, how did I get on? Well, here are the stats:
62 books read
18 Fiction
44 Non-fiction
6 started and not finished
I read a lot of great books last year and it was difficult narrowing them down to a top 10, but here they are (in no particular order):
I Wish I Could Say I Was Sorry – Susie Kelly (March 2018) I’m a big fan of autobiographies (inherent nosiness at work 
), and this one stayed with me a long time after finishing it.
East of Eden – John Steinbeck (April 2018). It’s Steinbeck, it’s a classic. What more is there to say really?
Endurance – Alfred Lansing (May 2018). An amazing true story of the human spirit. An absolute cracker.
Killers of The Flower Moon – David Grann (May 2018). Another incredible true story. One that had me asking why it took so long for this tale of greed, murder and corruption to come out.
Factfulness – Hans Rosling (June 2018). Possibly one of the most talked about books of 2018. If you’ve ever felt as though the world is going to hell in a handcart, this book will change your mind.
Rocket Men – Robert Kurson (July 2018). Ok, this was my favourite book of 2018. A riveting account of the Apollo 8 space mission which had me in tears more than once.
Tiger Woods – Jeff Benedict & Armen Keteyian (August 2018). Who knew that a book about someone I’ve never been particularly interested in, who plays a sport I don’t understand and have zero interest in would end up in my top 10? This is what I love about the Kindle Daily Deal. I buy books I wouldn’t otherwise buy because it’s worth taking a chance when you’re only shelling out 99p. I found this a fascinating, unputdownable account of a very complicated man’s life. I didn’t so much read this book as inhale it . Brilliant.
Bad Blood – John Carreyou (October 2018). A real ‘truth is stranger than fiction’ book. Reads like a thriller. Excellent.
How We Got To Now – Steven Johnson (November 2018). A book stuffed with great stories about how six innovations changed our world. I note from my original review that this was another book I ‘inhaled’ rather than read
The Fifth Risk – Michael Lewis (December 2018). It’s probably almost impossible for any top 10 list of books I compile not to include a Michael Lewis book. I’ve read most of his books, and this is one I found to be by far the most frightening. It is, perhaps, the antithesis to ‘Factfulness’. A riveting read.
So, what’s in store for 2019? Well, I already have a huge pile of books I want to read this year. I said at the beginning of last year that I would like to read some longer books and that still stands. I didn’t read many duds last year (I’ve become pretty ruthless at abandoning books if they don’t grab me early on), but if I want to read longer books, I recognise that I’ll need to either create more time for reading or read fewer books.
We’ll see how that pans out.
Carolyn